Quiz: Howstuffworks

Is Your Personality More CIA or FBI?

Zoe Samuel

Image: James Lauritz / Photodisc / Getty Images

About This Quiz

The CIA and the FBI share similar goals, but their missions and histories could not be further apart.

The FBI was founded more than 110 years ago, with Stanley Finch as its first director. At the time, terrorist attacks by Anarchists were on the rise, and the federal government needed a centralized agency to keep track of them and try to stop them. In time, the purpose of the FBI changed. The FBI took on the American mafia, and with the help of the Southern District of New York, helped prosecute the Five Families Case. It pursues cases of domestic terrorism, kidnapping, and even some cybercrime. Today, the FBI works to stop terrorism with the tools of domestic law enforcement, and it even stations a few officers overseas.

The CIA, on the other hand, came about after WW2 as a Cold War incarnation of the Office of Strategic Services, which was the American spy apparatus during WW2. The CIA isn't allowed to spy domestically, and thus most of the work they do in the USA is analysis. Their clandestine service agents travel the world in pursuit of intelligence which is sent back to Langley, Virginia, where the CIA makes sense of it and relays it to the White House, Department of Homeland Security, the military, and the FBI, as the case may be.

Do you think you're more of a G-man or more of a CIA spook? Now's the time to find out with this quiz!

How many languages do you speak fluently?

3

5

2

1

What's your worst physical issue?

Nearsightedness

I have a trick knee.

I lost a little hearing in one ear.

I have a bad back.

How adept are you at code switching?

I can do it when I have time to work on it.

I'm not at all good at it.

I'm very good at it.

I don't even know what that is.

How good are you with paperwork?

I can fill out a few forms if I need to.

I'm good at sifting through paperwork.

I'm okay with it.

I'm a master of paperwork.

How well do you deal with air travel?

Very well. I could sleep through anything.

Not all that well. I had an accident once.

I can do a short hop without any problems.

I don't like to fly.

How well do you know cultures from other lands?

I know a lot about a few.

I know tons about one.

I know a little about many.

I don't know anything about anyone.

Who do you view as the bigger threat: Americans or foreigners?

Foreigners will always pose a bigger threat, in my mind.

I think it's about the two working in tandem.

I'm more concerned with the domestic threats because they are more immediate and easier to deal with.

I neither know nor care.

How much do you value a stable family life?

Not at all

A lot

A bit

It's the most important thing.

How would you describe your allergies?

Minimal hay fever

I have a peanut allergy.

I can't eat onions.

I basically live in a bubble.

What did you study in college?

Languages and economics

China and Russia

Law enforcement

Philosophy

If you were looking for a job in the private sector, what would you want to do?

Run a tech startup

Work in academia

Security

I'd want to be an actuary.

In what office skill are you most skilled?

Coming up with clever explanations for the uses of petty cash

Categorizing papers

Forms

Filing

How good of a liar are you?

The best! I mean, no I'm terrible...

I can tell lies well, but only when they are rehearsed.

I can engage in a little deception from time to time.

I can't lie worth a damn.

How likely is it you'd be able to keep your work secrets from your family?

No problem there

I think I could do it.

I might be able to keep certain details to myself.

No, I can't handle any clearance.

How do you get when you are hit by a load of adrenaline?

I get really alert, but I stay cool.

I get a little fuzzy.

I get cold and focused.

I panic.

How regimented is your daily routine?

I try not to do thing the same way twice.

Mostly routine

Somewhat routine

Totally 100% routine

Who do you think makes the best role model?

Major John André

Francis Walsingham

Leonard W. Hatton

William Mark Felt, Sr.

Would you be able to make do if you were dropped in the middle of a foreign country where you don't speak the language?

Probably

I'd manage.

Only if I could find my way to a phone or an internet cafe

Nope

How patriotic are you?

I'd do terrible things in the name of my country.

I'd work my butt off to keep my country safe.

I'd suffer for my country.

I'd sacrifice all of my life's excitement to my country.

Have you ever done government work before?

I did, but I'm not allowed to talk about it.

Just ROTC

I did a couple of tours overseas.

No

How quickly do you digest new information?

Instantaneously

It takes me some time.

In minutes

It takes days

How well do you work as part of a team?

Fine, so long as my boss trusts me to do my own thing well.

Very well

I need structure to know what I can and can't do.

I prefer to be the tiniest cog possible.

How much do you believe in the concept of justice?

Justice is an artificial construct.

It's a matter of point of view.

It's the core of who I am.

It's a thing I hope exists.

With which of these objects are you most effective?

A checkbook

A laptop

A notebook

A ledger

How are you with breaking the rules?

If no one catches you, did you break the rules?

I don't break the rules because you can't account for the consequences.

Bend them, but don't break them.

Do not ever break the rules!

How tech savvy are you?

Fairly up to date

I'm on the bleeding edge.

I'm where the average person is.

I know everything about my computer and Microsoft Office.

How patient are you?

I'm not very patient.

I'm fairly patient.

I'm impatient.

I'm as patient as the grave.

Are you in it for the long haul?

Oh, I'm a lifer.

Maybe for 20 years

Yes, definitely.

No, I'll probably reach out to a headhunter after a few years.

Would you consider a future in politics?

No. It involves too much exposure.

Probably not. That's not where my skills lie.

Quite possibly, if there's an opening.

I don't do well with people or responsibility, so no.

What is your actual day job?

Event planner

Social media marketer

Teacher

Lawyer

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